Tube holder and squeezer with intermittent actuator for winding rollers



R. TUBE HOLDER AND SQUEEZER WITH INTERMITTENT Feb. 20, 1951 R. RAKESTRAW ACTUATOR FOR WINDING ROLLERS Filed Nov. 15, 1945 Roy R. Rakesrraw IN V EN TOR.

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Patented Feb. 20, 1951 2,542,571

" UNITED STATESZPATENT OFFICE TUBE HOLDER AND SQUEEZER WITH IN- TERMITTENT ACTUATOR FOR WINDING ROLLERS Roy R. Rakestraw, Lamar, Mo. Application November 15, 1945, Serial No. 628,681

1 Claim. (01. 222-98) This invention relates to an improved device that it may be engaged with nails driven into a for holding and actuating a tube of the type in wall or shelf and thus detachably mount the which tooth paste is packed, and it is one object device in position for use. Rollers 3 and 4 extend of the invention to provide a device adapted to be longitudinally in the hollow body, the roller 4 mounted against a wall, bench or shelf and of such 5 constituting a tube-carrying roller and the roller construction that it may hold a tube and, when 3 constituting a pressure-applying roller. The actuated, p y pr s re to force contents of the roller 4 extends the full length of the body and tube outwardly through the neck thereof after a has its end portions rotatably mounted through cap for closing the neck has been removed. the end walls 5 and 6 and this roller, which is Anot r j ct of the nvent n is t provide a 10 hollow, is formed with a longitudinally extenddevice of this character including rollers between ing slot I in order that the sealed and flattened which the rear end portion of a tube is engaged rear end portion of a tube 8 of tooth paste or so that by rotating the rollers thetube may be the like ma be thrust inwardly through the slot d aw r y between them and compressed and anchor the tube to the roller 4. The roller so hat oot paste o other contents will be is 3 is shorter than the roller 4 and has one end pelled from the tube. portion mounted through the end wall 6 of the Another object of the invention is to provide a body I and its other end portion mounted through device of this character wherein the rollers are a plate or partition 30 which extends transversely ro atab y m u t d in a t u ap d d n of the body in spaced, parallel relation to the roll being rm d with a sl t for re v the wall 5. Slots 9 and It are formed in the end rear e d o a tu and having ng means assowall 6 and the partition 30 transversely of the :ciated with it, and the other roller being rotatably body t e i end portions of th roller 3 and mounted and'shiftable toward and away from th therefore this roller 3 will not only be rotatably fi roller, but urged toWald e same y a Spring mounted, but also be shiftable transversely of so that the rollers will have very good g ppi g the body toward and away from the roller 4. A and pressing engagement wi h the p ion f t leaf spring H formed from a strip of resilient tube passing between them. metal is fixed to the body, as shown in Figure 3,

Another object of the invention is to provide the and the arms H of this spring bear against the slotted roller with turnin me ns nsi ng of a roller 3 and force it toward roller 4. It will thus ratchet l ver p v tal y u d nd engaging a be seen that the portion of the tube passing beratchet wheel fixed to the roller so that by imtween the rollers will be firmly gripped and pres:- parting rocking movement to the lever, step-bysure applied by the two rollers insueh manner step turning movement may be transmitted to th that as the inner end portion of the tube is flat roller, tened and wound about the roller 4, paste or Another ject of the nv nt nis to provide a 3;, other contents ofthe tubeiwill be forced'out device of this character which is simple'in cone through the neck vl2 from which the cap l3 will struction and very-easyto operate with one hand have. been removed in order that. the paste may while holding a tooth brush with the other hand be discharged from thetube'; when subjected to in position to receive-tooth-paste from the tube. :pressure'. :F

. glhe invention is illustrated in the-acco phhy- '40 In order-that tooth maybe-discharged ing drawings, wherein: from the -tube, it is necessary to rotate the roller Figure 1 is a view showing the improved tube '4 and this should be done in step-by step move holder in elevation and atube engaged therewith, ment and thus reduce likelihood of the roller Figure 2 is an end view of the tube holder, being turned to such an extent that too much Figure 3 is a front view of the tube holder, of the tooth paste will be discharged from the Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line tube at one time. This step-by-step rotationof 4-4 of Figure 3, the shaft 4 is accomplished by means of a'lever Figure5 is a sectional view taken along the line M which extends radially of the shaft and has 55 of Figure 2, and its inner end portion formed with arms or forks Figure 6 is adetail view showing the ratchet I5 loosely engaged about the portion of the shaft and pawl, 4 extending between the partition 8 and the end This improved tube holder has a trough-shaped wall 5 of the body. This lever carries ears l6 behollow body I which may be formed of metal or tween which a pawl I1 is pivotally mounted, the any other suitable material. Adjacent its oppopawl having its free end engaging a ratchet site ends the body is formed with slots 2 in order wheel 18 rigidly fixed to the shaft and located between the arms or forks of the lever. When the lever is swung in one direction, rotary motion will be imparted to the shaft 4 by engagement of the free end of the pawl with teeth of the ratchet wheel, but during movement of the lever in an opposite direction, the pawl will slip over teeth of the ratchet and the lever may thus return to its normal position without imparting retrograde rotation to the shaft. A coiled spring l9 formed from a strand of resilient wire is carried by the shaft 4 between the ratchet wheel and one fork of the lever and has one arm .20 bent at its end to form a hook engaged through an opening 2| formed in the pawl H. The other arm 22 of the spring is curved longitudinally and has its end portion projecting from theh'ollow body and engaged through an opening formed in an arm 23 carried by the hollow body in opposed relation to the lever l4. The 'fact that the spring i9 is coiled about the shaft 4 and has one arm anchored to the arm 23 and its other arm connected with the pawl ll causes this spring to yieldably hold the pawl in engagement with the ratchet wheel and also urge the lever 14 toward its neutral position shown in Figure 2. Therefore, the single spring serves very effectively to yieldably .hold the pawl in engagement with the ratchet wheel and cause the lever to return to its normal position after it has been pressed toward arm 23 to impart a partial rotation to roller 4 and cause paste to be discharged from the tube.

When this device is in use, it is engaged with nails driven into a wall or shelf and the flattened and sealed rear end of a tube then thrust into the slot '1 of the shaft-4. After the sealed end :of the tube :has been engaged in the slot 1., "the key 24 carried by the end of the shaft ,projecting from the wall 6 is turned to the "position indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1 and turned to impart rotary movement to the shaft and wind the sealed end of the tube'about the shaft 4. The shaft is, of :course, turned in a direction which will cause the teeth of the ratchet wheel to slip past the free end of the pawl H and cause y the engaged end of the tube to move between the two rollers. The cap f3 may now be removed from the neck of the tube and by engaging the arm 23 and the lever M with a thumb and finger on one hand, the lever may be swung toward the arm and a partial rotation imparted to the shaft 4 and thus wind a short length of the tube about the shaft '4 and cause the two rollers to apply pressure to the tube and expel paste from the neck 12 onto a tooth brush held in such position that the discharged paste will be caught by the brush. The lever i4 is then released and the spring returns it to the normal position, :after which the cap I3 will be replaced so that-the paste not dry in the neck of the tube. In view of the fact that the roller 3 is .sl-idably mounted .as well as rotatably mounted, "it may have movement toward and away from the roller 4 and as the tube is gradually wound about the roller 4, the roller will be shifted away from the roller 4, but the spring will :still urge this roller 3 toward :roller 4 and cause the rollers 'to have pressing engagement with the tube.

When the tube has been emptied, the pawl is shifted out of engagement with the ratchet wheel and the key 24 may then be grasped and roller 4 turned in a direction to unwind the tube from this roller, after which a new tube will be applied and a few turns imparted to the roller to wind the sealed end of the tube onto the roller. The pawl will be allowed to return into engagement with the ratchet wheel after the emptied tube has been removed, and after a new tube has been applied the key will be returned to a position close against the end wall of the hollow body.

It is thought that persons skilled in the art to which the invention relates will be able to obtain "a clear understanding of the invention after considering the description in connection with the drawings. Therefore, a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

Minor changes in the shape, size and arrangement of details coming within the field of .invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice, if desired.

While it has been stated that the device is intended to hold a tube "of tooth paste, it will be understood that the tube may contain other substances of a liquid or semiliquid nature which are customarily sold in tubes from which they are expelled by removing a cap and then applying pressure to the tube in order to force the contents of the tube through the neck thereof.

What is claimed is:

'In apparatus for holding a collapsible tube and expelling the contents thereof, an elongated trough-shaped supporting body, a roller mounted in said body to rotate abou't'its own axis which extends longitudinally of said body, said roller having an elongated longitudinal slot extending therethrough, a ratchet wheel mounted on the roller adjacent one end thereof to rotate therewith, a lever mounted on the roller adjacent the ratchet wheel to rock in an arc concentric with the :axis of the roller, a pawl carried by the lever and engaging the ratchet wheel, an arm fixed to the body adjacent the end thereof nearest the lever, said arm projecting outwardly from the body in spaced relation to the lever, a torsion spring encircling the shaft adjacent the lever, a leg on said spring bearing on the arm, a second leg on the spring bearing on the lever yieldingly to hold. the lever away from the arm, a compres sion roller mounted in the body in parallel relation to the slotted roller and a spring in the body bearing on the compression roller yieldingly to urge said compression roller toward 'th slotted roller.

ROY R. RAKESTRAW.

REFERENGES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: UNITED STATES PATENTS 

